In the November 15, 2006 Issue
To the Editor
As an avid reader of Hamodia’s weekly, I feel I must comment on your recent two-part series on hearing impairment.
I am the mother of an adorable little hearing impaired daughter. I feel injustice has been done by expanding on the idea of sign language for the deaf.
Although this was the norm a few decades ago, this is not so at present. In the Jewish world there are hundreds, if not thousands, of hearing impaired children who are successfully mainstreamed into chadarim, yeshivas, and schools. Thanks to ever-advancing medical technology, they are functioning in society just like the rest of us. Just ask any one of those children and they wouldn’t even know what sign language means!
There is one yeshivah in the entire world that teaches the deaf in sign language, with a total body of perhaps a dozen boys. This by no means represents the deaf population amongst us Yidden. You would have done a far better service by informing us, hearing and deaf alike, more about organizations such as Haazinu, run by the ever tireless Mr. Moishe Yaraslowitz, whose goal and aim is to mainstream every hearing impaired child into the hearing society.
My daughter is young now, but, iy”H, one day I will have deep, meaningful discussions with her, just like every loving mother would.
